The Penguin's Serenade
by Cartoonatic55
Summary: After their date at the opera, Oswald decides to serenade to Veronica with an old song his mother used to sing to him. Takes place during the episode "Birds of a Feather". Oswald/Veronica fluff. My first B:TAS fic, so go easy on me. Happy Valentine's Day.


**_Well, here I go again, writing a Valentine's Day oneshot ficcy for a new section involving a couple that has never been written for before instead of updating the accumulated, unfinished multi-chaptered stories that I should really get back to. Ah well. As usual, I don't own anything in this fic; I don't own Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot a.k.a The Penguin, Veronica Vreeland, Batman: The Animated Series, the episode "Birds of a Feather" during which this fic takes place, Gotham City, or anything else Batman-related. Except that one comic book I have, but that's a different version of Batman with a different version of Penguin and Gotham City, so that doesn't count._**

**_Oh, and I don't own Pierce either, and quite frankly I don't want to._**

**_I don't own the song "Moonlight Becomes You" either. The company that made "Road to Morocco" with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby does. (My compliments go out to those of you who know who and what the heck I'm talking about.)_**

* * *

It was a cold night in Gotham City when Veronica walked home with Oswald by her side. Earlier that evening Oswald had insisted on the two of them going to the theatre to see one of his favorite operas, and not wanting to hurt his feelings, she agreed. She tried her best not to show her dislike and embarrassment of his actions whenever he looked at her, but the truth was that she did feel embarrassed around him. He always seemed to draw attention not only to himself but to those around him, and not in the good way either. He was hard to ignore, what with his waddle, his flippered fingers, his mannerisms and his beak-like nose, and whenever the two of them were together she couldn't help but to think of how those who noticed them together would think of her. One example was that when one of the actors was singing, he started singing along loudly and off-key, using his umbrella to represent the knife the actor was holding. No one seemed to notice him as he did, but she still felt a bit humiliated thinking about what her friends would say to her if they saw his little performance for her. She was thinking of the possible remarks they would make as she walked arm-in-arm with him down the empty sidewalk that led to her house.

As Veronica was thinking about how awful her experience at the theatre had been, Oswald was thinking about how wonderful it was. He had always enjoyed a night at the theatre, but usually whenever he attended a performance he was alone. The lack of company didn't usually bother him, but he had to admit that her presence was enjoyable. It certainly made him feel wanted in a place where nearly everyone despised him. It was rather comforting to have another human being there with him; especially a woman. It was no secret that his unique physical features usually made him appear unattractive to a woman, but here was someone that actually looked past his grotesque features and was willing to be with him and treat him like an actual person! What a delightful change of events! As they strolled down the barren sidewalk, he started discussing his thoughts about the opera to her.

"Though I think the ending could have been played out a bit better than it did, I do believe that it was one of he best performances I have ever seen!," he exclaimed, raising his other arm up and clutching his umbrella as if it were some sort of sword. His eyes gazed upwards to view her face. "Don't you agree, my darling?"

"Hmm?" She looked down at her date and realized that he had asked her about the play. Without much thought, she simply answered with, "Oh, yes, of course."

Once he took notice of the distracting look she had in her eyes, his smiling features quickly faded into a frown. "You didn't like it, did you?"

"What? I didn't say that; I said that I did."

"But your eyes betray your words, my dear," he said softly. She looked down and away from him.

"Look, Oswald, I--"

"You don't really like me, do you, Miss Vreeland?"

Her eyes widened and she quietly gasped. She turned to him, her green eyes staring into his dark brown ones. "Why Ozzie! Whatever made you think that?!"

"Perhaps the fact that you have hardly said a thing to me for most of the evening," he pointed out.

She turned away from him again. He was right; she didn't communicate much with him throughout the night. "Oswald, it's not that I don't like you; it's just that-- Well, I'm just not feeling all that well tonight is all."

"Oh," he said quietly as he turned the other way. He didn't quite believe her, but he decided that it was probably for the best that he not persist with the convernsation if he wanted to still remain on somewhat-friendly terms with her. The couple remained silent throughout the rest of their walk until they came up to the front of her house.

"I suppose this is good night," she stated plainly.

"I suppose," he said somewhat upsettingly.

She looked down at him and noticed how upset he looked. "I really did enjoy it, Oswald."

Her voice caused him to turn to her. "Well then, I am very glad that you did."

Veronica smiled. "I hope you're still going to come to my party."

Oswald smiled back. "Of course I am! I can hardly wait for it!"

"Oh good!," she exclaimed as her other hand reached over to place it over his. "I'm looking forward to seeing you there."

"As am I," he told her softly. "I shall count the hours until we see each other again." He slowly brought her hand up to his lips and gently brushed his lips against it. She gave a silent gasp of surprise when he did. Although he had done this a few times before, she still didn't expect it. It wasn't often that someone kissed her hand; especially not someone like him. When he gazed up at her with a loving smile on his face, she gave him a small smile in return.

"Well, good night, Oswald."

"Only until the next time we meet, my dove." His hand slowly released hers as he watched her gracefully slip away into her mansion. Once she was out of sight behind the doors, he gave a long, loving sigh. What a rare find; a woman who actually cared for him! He never really thought that it could ever happen to a man like him except for in his dreams, but here it was all happening before him in reality. He held his umbrella against his chest and smiled warmly to himself as he closed his eyes and thought of possibly holding Veronica in his arms like this one day. Oh, how he wished that he could. As he turned around to leave, he noticed a glint of something on the ground. Curious, he picked it up and discovered that it was one of the earrings that Veronica was wearing that night. "She must not have noticed that it was missing," he said to himself. "I suppose that I should probably return it to her." He looked over at the door and was almost ready to knock, but something in the back of his mind told him not to. Something told him to run around to the back and look for her in one of the rooms of the mansion. He paused for a moment, wondering to himself why on Earth he would do such a thing, but before he thought about it all the way through he was already making his way to the back of the house to find her.

* * *

As Oswald was outside thinking about how he didn't want that night to end, Veronica was thinking just the opposite. She gave a heavy sigh of relief once she was away from him. How embarrassing this night was for her! If it weren't for her desperacy for the need to be the center of attention at parties, she wouldn't have been in this situation, but as it was she needed something to turn the heads of Gotham's most well-respected to her and Penguin seemed to fit the bill, so to speak. His looks, his waddle and his manners all made him a perfect fit to make an unusual and possibly unforgettable experience for anyone that ever met him. Although, she had to admit, the way he kept treating her like a lady no matter where they were made her feel a bit special. True, there were many men that had been polite to her in the past, but for some reason Oswald seemed to stand out as the most polite one of them all. Perhaps it was just the fact that he was a rogue made her think that way; she wasn't entirely sure. As she thought as to why that was, she held her hands over her stomach and suddenly remembered how he continually held her hands in a soft, gentle, and caring grasp that seemed like they would become lifeless if they left hers. It was strange to think that, but it felt like they would in a way. A small smile broke out onto her face as she thought about it, but it was soon gone once Pierce's voice echoed down from the top of the stairway.

"Back from your date at the opera, I see?," he asked rhetorically. Veronica looked up to see Pierce looking over the railing and grinning smugly at her.

"I thought that it wouldn't end," she groaned in frustration. As she made her way up the stairs to her friend, Pierce couldn't resist the urge to tell her what he had witnessed.

"Oh by the way, I saw that little performance that your date did up on that balcony," he chuckled. Her eyes lit up in surprise.

"Oh my gosh! You saw that?!"

"Oh, indeed; I saw everything!"

"You mean were spying on me?!"

"Not you _per se_; just your date."

She glared at him. "That's not very funny, Pierce," she scolded as she made her way to one of the other rooms and stood by the window to look out into the night.

"You're right," he laughed as he followed her in. "It wasn't just funny; it was a riot!" His laughter earned him a slap on the arm and a scowl from Veronica.

"Stop it, Pierce!"

Now his face became lit with shock. "Well my goodness! You don't have to be so defensive about it!"

"I'm not getting defensive," she protested. "I just don't like how you're being so immature about this!"

"Hey, that's no way to talk to the person who suggested the idea of inviting The Penguin to your next party in the first place to up your popularity."

"That's still not a good reason to offend him like that," she mumbled under her breath as she crossed her arms and turned away from him.

"Sheesh, Veronica; I was just having a bit of fun! I don't see why you have to find it offensive, especially since it's concerning that fat bird. I mean, honestly, you even said so yourself that you didn't like him."

Her face faded into a frown as he said this. "I know I did at first, but..."

* * *

Meanwhile, down below, Penguin was trying to find which of the many rooms she was in so that he could get her attention and return her earring back to her. Though he thought it was foolish to be wandering aimlessly behind her mansion since she might not even be anywhere in sight from where he was, he just so happened to looked up and notice her in the window of a room with a balcony. He also noticed that she seemed to be talking to someone, or maybe even herself, though he couldn't tell what she was saying. She looked beautiful, though, with her long, red hair flowing behind her shoulders and the moonlight shimmering down on her as if it was meant to be like a spotlight on the lead actress of a play during an important and dramatic monologue.

_'Moonlight,'_ he thought to himself. It caused him to think of one of an old song his mother used to sing to him when he was a child. Even after all of these years he remembered it still, and without much thought or care, he started to sing out that old melody that he had heard so many times when he was a young boy.

* * *

"But what? You found out that you actually like him?," he joked. He started to laugh, but when he saw that she wasn't enjoying it, he stopped. "Oh my dear. You're not serious, are you?"

She turned her head toward him. "Well, despite his looks he is a bit charming in a way, I'll admit that. What with him calling me things like 'my dove' and 'my peach' in that accent of his, it's--"

"Oh my Lord, you're beginning to fall in love with him, aren't you?!," he suddenly blurted out.

Her eyes widened at the thought. "What?! Don't be ridiculous, Pierce; I am _not_ falling in love with him!"

"Mm-hmm. Sure. That's what you said about your first husband, and your second one, if I'm not mistaken."

Veronica turned on her heel to face him, her arms still crossed and her eyes still glaring at him. "This is different," she growled.

"Oh, is it? I'm not so sure."

She rolled her eyes. _'Oh boy, here we go again,' _she thought to herself. Pierce always seemed to go off and ramble about how she kept falling for the wrong men and how one of those days it was going to get to her, and he did, just as she thought he would. However, while he was rehashing his old speech, she heard something else; another voice softly singing.

**_"Moonlight becomes you..."_**

The mysterious voice caused her eyes to light up with surprise. Was she imagining things?

**_"It goes with your hair..."_**

It sounded real enough...

**_"You certainly know the right thing to wear..."_**

"Quiet, Pierce!," she hissed. His ranting didn't help her with her deduction of whether it was real or not. Once he stopped, she soon found out.

**_"Moonlight becomes you..."_**

She turned to the window and looked out across the yard to see if she could spot the mysterious singer. "Do you hear that?"

**_"I'm thrilled at the sight..."_**

She threw open the doors that led out to the balcony and ran out to see who the singer was, and was surprised when she looked down to see Oswald standing below and singing the very words that had drawn her outside in the first place.

**_"And I could get so romantic tonight..."_**

"Oswald?," she whispered blankly. He looked up and smiled broadly as he continued to sing out to her.

**_"You're all dressed up to go dreaming;  
Now don't tell me I'm wrong.  
And what a night to go dreaming.  
Mind if I tag along?"_**

Her lips started to slowly form a soft smile as she raised her hands to her chest and lovingly pressed them to her heart.

**_"If I say I love you,  
I want you to know  
It's not just because there's moonlight,  
Although, moonlight becomes you so."_**

Once he was finished serenading, Veronica gazed lovingly down at him. "Ozzie," she breathed, "that was wonderful."

"You liked it?," he asked hopefully.

"Oh, I loved it," she sighed romantically, which made his face grow brighter with delight. "Can you come inside for a moment?"

"I would be delighted to." He took out his umbrella and caused the helicopter blades to come of it and used them to fly up to the balcony and land by her side. She took a few steps back in surprise.

"What I meant was that I should let you in through the front door, but--"

"My humblest of apologies then."

She flashed him a small smile of understandment, but then she asked him, "What were you doing out there?"

"I was trying to find you to return this," he told her as he showed her the missing earring. She gasped as he held it out and she suddenly became aware of how her right earring was gone.

"I didn't even know it was missing," she said as she knelt down by his side and gently picked it out of his hands.

"To be honest, neither did I until I noticed it on the ground when I was about to leave," he told her. "I would've knocked on the front door to return it, but--" Before he could finish his sentence, she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. His eyes grew wide and his cheeks became flushed at the feel of her lips softly caressing his skin and her cheek leaning gently against his afterwords.

"Thank you so much, Oswald," she whispered softly.

Oswald became too stunned to respond. How could he? He had never been kissed on the cheek by a woman before and once she did a sudden feeling of both shock and delight suddenly shot through his system and both had prevented him from giving out a response of any kind. Once his heart had stopped racing, he slowly came to his senses and he slowly started to grin as his hands reached out for hers to gingerly hold them in his grasp. He gently closed his eyes and whispered softly to her, "No, my fair swan; thank you."

It was almost a shame that neither of them knew what would happen at that party later that week.

**_The End_**

* * *

**_Oh my. That took longer to write then I originally thought. It was certainly interesting, though._**

**_Okay, before you come to beat me up for this, just hear me out. This is my first B:TAS fiction and I'm very new to this show (I've only seen a few episodes so far), so if it's out-of-character I do apologise most sincerely. If the story seems crappy, well, I'm sorry for that too. As for the couple I chose to write for, well, it seems like every Valentine's Day so far I've written a Valentine's Day fic for a section that I've never written for before and write about an unusual, underused, perhaps even unheard of couple that nobody has written for, so it only seemed fitting that I follow with that same idea here. (And please, don't ask me why I picked to write an Oswald/Veronica fic; I just wanted to.)_**

**_Disclaimer: If I said that I don't own anything at the beginning of this fic, then what makes you think that I own something at the end?_**

**_Hope you all had a happy Valentine's Day, aside from reading this. :)_**


End file.
